The chrome plating industry is slowly being eliminated due to the toxic waste created by the chromium chemicals used, the pollution they create to the sewage system and the large amount of water the system uses. There is a need to provide a process where water is conserved and there is no pollution of the public sewage system.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,681,210; 4,781,806 and 4,952,290 teach chrome plating processes wherein the metal article is passed through an electroplating procedure wherein many of the materials are recirculated to conserve the materials and to reduce the amount of waste product. However, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,290 uses a closed system which requires large amounts of water and equipment because it uses overflow solutions, collecting tanks, and storage tanks. U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,806 uses a plurality of treating tanks and recirculation equipment. However, this patent increases mixing efficiency by providing air agitation in the rinse tank along with overhead rinse sprays. This patent, however, has a process which does produce waste overflow which must be further treated to provide a sludge cake that is disposed of in an appropriate land fill.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,681,210 shows a multi-step process for electroplating metal parts with chromium which is directed to recovering water used to rinse the workpieces. This patent requires the rinse water to be treated with an exchange resin. This patent does not discuss using a completely closed system.
Further, all of the above patents provide chromium electroplating systems that use a plurality of rinse tanks that require the article to be dipped into the rinsing solution.
The process of chrome plating is generally well known. Generally, to chrome plate a metal article, the metal article is cleaned usually with a caustic soda solution to degrease the article. The metal article is then subjected to an acid pickling solution, electroplated with nickel and then finally electroplated with chromium.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an economical process for chrome plating metal parts without creating any public sewage waste water.